Recently LaVerne Tate and Kay Shumway were discussing early pictures of Bluff. Kay asked if LaVerne knew the legend of stone triplets near Bluff.

LaVerne said she had a very early Bluff photo of some triplets. LaVerne has published a book of photos and history entitled Early San Juan County, with the San Juan County Historical Society.

LaVerne brought out a Charles Goodman photo taken about 1894 near Bluff. LaVerne and her family have looked for this rock formation for years.

Kay looked at the photo and in the middle of the night he realized he had seen that rock formation before. He checked his database of photos with specific attention to Spring Canyon. There among the flower photos from Spring Canyon taken in 2005 were three photos showing the same rock formation Charles Goodman had photographed in 1894.

On March 13, Kay, with grandson Davin Lyman as his Sherpa, hiked into Spring Canyon with camera equipment and a copy of Goodman’s photo.

They located where Goodman took his photograph. Changes have occurred in the 118 years since Goodman was there, but these are small considering the intervening decades of weathering. A comparison of the photographs tells the story.

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